VISA runs to Thailand? Wow, great idea. Thailand was fun, though Bangkok is just a teeeeeeeny bit on the wild side.

Yea, Japan's a good choice. Fukuoka *may* have an immigration office, at least, I hope it does. I have to check on that. If it does, a VISA run could be as easy as heading to Busan by train/bus, hopping on a 3-hour Beetle ferry, staying at a $50 a night hotel for a night or two in lovely, coastal Fukuoka while your VISA processes, then take the Beetle back. Train from Seoul is probably near 40,000 won, maybe more, Beetle costs 120,000 round trip if I'm not mistaken, and then max $100 on a hotel. Not too shabby.

That's my plan for February. Hwah!

Does anyone know if Fukuoka has a Korean consulate or immigration office?

EDIT: I found a cheat! Hah!

Last edited by Zyzyfer on Fri Jan 31, 2003 10:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

Don't know if anyone has done a visa run there, but there's definitely a Korean consulate in Vladivostok,and quite a large one at that.

Some pluses:

It's super close
Cheap
Surreal experience

Some minuses:
Russian tourist visas are a b*tch to apply for
Underdeveloped tourist infrastructure (despite the Hyundai Hotel built on the outskirts of the city, which is a huge money loser for Hyundai)

Let me put it this way: it's an interesting experience, quite an attractive place, and I guarantee you will appreciate Korea SO much more!

Should have done this sooner. LOL Jakarta and Indonesia were fantastic. The place where you need to go is a little confusing but the guards are very helpful about explaining where to go. I dropped off my passport for my visa and came back almost 2 weeks later to pick it up with no trouble. But it was ready in 5 days if I had wanted it faster. Java is a beautiful Island with lots of things to see and although travel guides warn against theft and scams as long as you are a wary traveler you will be fine.

I have gotten a few visas in Hong Kong. The embassy is right in Central and easy to find. The visa was overnight, and Hong Kong is awesome. I used to live on the mainland a few hours outside of Hong Kong.
You can stay in Kowloon in one of the countless hostels/guesthouses in Mirador Mansion or Chungking Mansion. The rooms are nothing special (and the beds are freaking uncomfortable), but it's worth it to be right downtown for $25US a night.

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:44 am Post subject: Can I go to SK without visa, and then make a visa run?

I'm from the US, and I've thought of going to SK to interview in person-- mostly to get a look at the school/living conditions, and also I've seen a lot of job posts that pay much better but start a week from the posting date (presumably they are for people already in SK??)

So if I went and brought all necessary documents (degree, CBC, transcripts, etc.) -- I would have no problem signing a contract while over there, and then making a visa run to Japan, right?

Sorry if this sounds basic, but I have tried the search function on multiple browsers and it lags/freezes.

If this is your first E-2 visa you have to obtain it from your home country. And, NO, you can't just hop over to Guam because you have to obtain your visa from the consulate with jurisdiction over the region you're from. I've heard of a few exceptions, but I wouldn't count on it. And, I seriously doubt that any school here would pay for a round-trip ticket for you to go back to your home country for your visa. As I've suggested to others before, your best bet is to land a job with a public school (or maybe one of the larger hagwon chains) for your first year. They pay your airfare to Korea, set you up with a reasonably furnished apartment and you're not out any money for the flight or accomodations in Korea. If you stay beyond the first year you can make the jump to a better job if you desire and the opportunity presents itself.